WASHINGTON - A South Texas congressman resigned from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in protest of the group's embrace of a Senate immigration bill that contains millions of dollars for drones, fences and border agents, officials said Tuesday.

Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, announced his decision to resign in a short email over the weekend following Senate approval.

Vela said he was concerned that the bill conditions a pathway to citizenship for people living in the country illegally on militarization of the border, including additional hundreds of miles of border fence.